Diplomacy, Blue in Ink and Blood

by Rubidium

Regarding Compromises

Dear Cousin,

I see now that the imprecations I uttered against you these past days were entirely without merit; I beg your forgiveness for ever having doubted your virtue or good will. The wine arrived yesterday - pass on my thanks to whoever made the selection.

After receiving your last letter, I spoke with Thorax, and in accordance with your recommendations asked after alternative concessions we might offer them. To no avail, alas. He’s quite set on getting Chrysalis back and quite unwilling to explain why. I gather he’s still upset at me about the book (about which he’s also largely declined to clarify). As a counteroffer, he proposed that we might periodically swap custody of the statue, say every six moons or so. Figure we set up a joint changeling-pony guard on it, make sure to get some prominent pegasi on the pony side, and maybe throw some bits at the weather industry - do you think that would be enough to placate the cloudies?

I spoke with Pharynx again last night (the wine provided a lovely excuse), and he’s quite mystified about Thorax. Apparently it’s not just the Chrysalis debacle, though - Thorax isn’t even taking his advice on guard assignments anymore, much less confiding with him about anything significant. He doesn’t know the motivation, either - one day they got along as well as they ever do, and the next Thorax was cutting him out of as much of the Hive administration as he could. I suggested to him the time-tested technique of indiscriminate groveling, and he called me a dishonorable coward utterly devoid of virtues. He gets remarkably eloquent when he’s drunk, did you know?

I think you must be right that Thorax is attempting to placate some anti-Equestrian faction. It would at the very least explain why no changeling willing to support the move has any interest in talking to me. I rather doubt that’s the whole of it, Thorax’s behavior being much too strange to be resolved so simply, but at the very least it gives me something to look into.

Meanwhile, I suppose I ought to make what friends I may, and Pharynx has a number of old acquaintances who were uninterested in my previous dinner invitations; I think I’ll see if I can tempt them to change their minds. Would you be so good as to have a barrel or two of salted fish sent my way?

Tell Aunt Lu that I’d be delighted by her visit, but as a stallion of principle, I refuse to bend on the terminological question. She does a thing with Xanthos that makes Balius wibble; therefore, it is and shall be referred to as a “wibbly thing”. If she wishes the terminology I use to be correct, she will simply have to convince the astronomers to adopt my convention.
Your loyal and industrious servant,

Blueblood

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Dear Blueblood,

Yes, I think I can get the cloud cities to come around to your proposal. Ask Thorax if there are any aerobats in the Hive who’d be willing and able to do a few tours with the Wonderbolts; I think if I can get them excited about a less controversial instance of interspecies cooperation, they’ll be easier to move on the Cozy Glow matter.

I’m still very concerned about security, especially if Thorax is facing internal unrest, but you have considerably better visibility into the state of things than I do: in your estimation, is the Hive equipped to recapture Chrysalis and Tirek if the petrification unexpectedly fails, and to hold them both securely and ethically?

The fish are on their way.

I passed on your message to Princess Luna. If I get a petition to mandate that all instances of “orbital perturbation” become “wibbly thing”, I’m going to give you a lifetime appointment as ambassador to Griffonstone.

Please reply as quickly as possible; I’d like to keep things moving on this.
Your friend,

Twilight Sparkle

Comments

[Gadget]

Le transmití tu mensaje a la Princesa Luna. Si recibo una petición para ordenar que todos los casos de “perturbación orbital” se conviertan en “cosas que se mueven”, te daré un nombramiento vitalicio como embajadora en Griffonstone.

It's because gryphons are a failed state, right?